It's Off to Work I Go
by Gumi Reloaded
Summary: This story happens after Starting the Day Saitoh Family Style. After parting from Saitoh, Takagi Tokio heads to her office, eventually learning something about the recent attempts on her life. Captain Karen Wantanabe joins her right before she leaves for the day.
1. Chapter 1- Morning Pleasantries

To Tokio it feels like she has already put in a full day today, but she just now arrived at work. If you want to see what the attorney did this morning up until now, checkout the Gumi-Reloaded stories, **A Conversation at a Crossroads** (1st) and **Starting the Day Saitoh Family Style** (2nd).

Current Mood: Very Happy, Very Determined

Current Location: New Meji DOJ Municipal Complex, The Wing Where the Prosecutors Roost

Current Music: Heigh Ho (looking forward to getting home and spending time with my family)

**It's Off to Work I Go...**

(Hope no one will try to kill me today, I'm getting tired of it.)

**Place**: New Meiji Municipal Complex, DOJ Legal Wing, Prosecuting Attorney's Offices, Judges' Chambers  
**Date**: February 8  
**Time**: Whenever the Major dropped her off this morning (and he _was_ on time, as usual) until about 16:00 hrs.

**Chapter 1 - Morning Pleasantries**

It was great to be back at work. Murakami Oharu, her secretary, had given her a questioning look when she'd first walked through the door this morning. It was the kind of look that plainly asked, 'What are you doing back here so soon?'.

The attorney believed in the principle of innocent until proven guilty. But someone did have to prosecute those who were accused of crimes. She wanted all who were proven guilty to be put away where they would never, ever see the light of day. The problem was that in New Meiji many who committed the most heinous crimes seemed to never have to pay a price for their actions. Her brother, Takagi Morinusuke, Chief Justice for the country, sent her to the New Meiji branch of the DOJ to do more than prosecute cases. He was counting on her to do some undercover investigating in order to ferret out who in this department was making it so easy for hardened syndicate criminals, dealers, corrupt government officials, and you name it, to get off the hook scot free and be back on the streets (or in their offices in the case of government officials) in a matter of hours.

It wasn't exactly that he sent her; she'd volunteered for the assignment. He didn't have much choice. He had no one else he could trust.

In Tokio's opinion, the criminal elements, all of them, deserved to be put away for the rest of their miserable, despicable lives. The attorney had absolutely no use for the scum of the earth types and their penchant to prey on the innocent and defenseless. She felt the same way about those who protected the guilty. Both types were the same and deserved the same ending in her way of thinking.

The young woman had been her brother's top senior prosecutor in Yokohama, but she'd been sent here to New Meiji as an assistant prosecutor so as not to call attention to herself. (So much for that delusional line of thinking, because it didn't work out so well. She and the Major both had injuries to prove it.)

If going undercover, trying to discover who was causing problems in the NMDOJ wasn't more than enough to deal with, and in her opinion it was, Tokio had another very important mission at the moment. That was to stay alive. She now had a family to protect and live for. It was imperative that she figure out who was trying to kill her. If it weren't for her former, and soon to be again husband, pieces of her would be in a body bag in the morgue at the moment.

She wasn't alone in her quest to stay alive and safe, either. She knew that the Major would be involved as much as he could. Since he was also a victim in the car bombing, he wasn't allowed to directly participate in the investigation of who had planted that bomb in her car. Whatever he did for her would need to be on a more covert level, except for his role as her personal bodyguard when they were off work. Tokio also knew that Captain Wantanabe would do what she could. The officer was already upgrading the security system in the attorney's home, which as it turned out, would be unnecessary.

Saitoh had just been promoted, or sentenced in the prosecutor's opinion, to lead the Criminal Investigations Division of the MPD. As department head, he'd announced he was enforcing two usually over looked policies. Tokio was sure there would be fallout, but in her opinion, the Major did what was necessary. No drug use, and a complete set of financials on file for each officer. Too many in the police department received money from clandestine sources, and thus acted not in the best interest of the citizens, but in the interests of those who made the pay-offs. She was not looking forward to viewing the new Complaints-Filed Report this morning. She had a feeling that some of those complaints would be from officers in the Investigations Department which Saitoh supervised.

She still could not believe how emotionally needy she felt this morning when she entered the DOJ parking garage for the first time since the bombing. Hajime had sensed her distress even though she tried to stay calm and hide her feelings. As always, he knew just what to do to get her back on track for which she was thankful. This time when the two of them parted to go to their respective workplaces, Tokio had been the one to look back. In this era it was only fair.

As far as Tokio was concerned, the sooner she got into her office the better.

Murakami Oharu's desk sat facing the DOJ office pool. Behind her desk was the door to Tokio's private office. In this position Oharu could keep an eye on the comings and goings of the members of the office pool, and monitor any visitors that anyone in the large room might have. It also allowed her to intercept idiots –as Oharu called them - trying to head straight for Tokio's door without permission.

"Takagi-sensei, I heard what happened to you and Captain..., oops, Major Saitoh in the parking garage." The way news and gossip spread around the DOJ and MPD, everyone had to know by now. "Are you sure you are recovered enough to return to work? Do you know how he is doing today?" Oharu's late boss, Fujita Hiroshi, had known Saitoh well.

Tokio gently reminded the older woman that she wanted to be addressed by her first name. There was no reason to be so formal with her personal secretary. "I'm fine Oharu-san, and I do appreciate your concern." Tokio recalled the pink box and its contents that the Major brought home along with replacements for her electronic devices. "Thank you so much for sending me those delicious walnut brownies. It was so thoughtful of you to do that." The woman remembered how the prosecutor raved about them last week. Oharu smiled, obviously quite pleased, and gave a little nod.

There was no need to be less than truthful with her secretary. "When I was thrown by the force of the blast, my shoulder hit the garage floor first and was dislocated . It's still a little sore, along with my knee which suffered the same fate. But I'll live." At least for now. The conversation with Hajime in the kitchen early this morning was ringing in her ears. He'd given her more time to survive than she had given herself.

The attorney's secretary narrowed her eyes in disapproval. It was quite clear to Tokio that the woman thought she should still be home recovering from what happened to her.

"If you want you can contact Major Saitoh's office to see how he is doing." There was no need to reveal that she was quite aware of the Major's condition. Tokio knew he was still in pain from injuries sustained at the Sunshine Cafe, in addition to what he suffered in the DOJ garage, even though he hid it very well.

One thing that was an improvement over Meiji 1 was pain management. Cold dermal bands that stayed put when you put them on allowing cold therapy to take away the pain, rather than having to pop some sort of med, were standard protocol in this era. In Meiji 1 the meds were herbal based and worked with limited success. Tokio was never a fan of having to take medication, and only did so when absolutely necessary to recover from some sort of aliment. The flu was never kind. At least now there was something you could take for it to make it go way, if the yearly immunization didn't work.

There was too much drug use in New Meiji as it was. She'd heard about some of the experiments. Drug enhanced performance was a given, a common occurrence for cartel members, and anyone else trying to gain an upper hand physically. To her chagrin some members of the MPD used, too; look at what happened to Umagoe's unit. But her soon to be husband did not engage or believe in doing anything of the sort. Both she and Hajime had the same view about that. The attorney also had strong feelings about the government which seemed to have no regard for what might happen to those they forced into participating in drug trials, drug trials that were rumored to be for the creation of a super soldier. Just the thought of that made her shiver. It was said there had been very serious consequences which had resulted in madness and death for many people.

Before heading into her office the prosecutor stopped by the small table in a corner of the outer office. It held a single serve hot drink dispenser which worked quite well since Oharu was a tea drinker, while Tokio preferred very strong coffee. It occurred to her that both she and the Major had developed that taste in this new era. Hm. The woman wondered if it was a coincidence or a connection between the two of them that was active even though they hadn't yet met in New Meiji.

As she prepared a cup for herself, she gave Oharu instructions to hold all calls until after lunch. The Major had her personal cell number and she had no desire to be interrupted by anyone else because she knew she probably had a lot of catching up to do after being away from the office even for one day. The activity in the New Meiji branch of the DOJ was non-stop, and a lot had happened since the last time she was here, the day her car was bombed. . In addition there were other pressing matters that needed the prosecutor's immediate attention. As she picked up her briefcase from where she put it to get her coffee, her ever observant secretary was up and out of her seat to open the door to her boss's office. Tokio murmured her thanks and Oharu closed the door behind the prosecutor


	2. Chapter 2 - First Things First

**Chapter 2 - First Things First**

Entering her private office, the door closed behind her with a click. Her desk was as neat as it was the afternoon she left it. Tokio carefully gazed over the surface before putting her cup down on top and her briefcase on the carpeted floor beside it. Settling into the comfortable brown leather swivel chair, she gave her office a once over before opening each of the three drawers that lined both sides of her desk. There was no need to lock them since nothing valuable was kept in them, except her walking shoes. All in the office and desk, looked in order. It didn't appear that anything had been moved or put out of place. However, she had a nagging feeling that someone had been in here.

She was relieved to see that the pair of athletic shoes she kept in the deep bottom drawer on the left was still where she placed them when she first occupied her office a little over a week ago. (It seemed more like months than days to the attorney.) Tokio wore low heels to work, but if something should happen where she needed to move fast over a long distance, those shoes would be necessary. She could run in her heels, but not for very far.

Captain Wantanabe found explosives in Tokio's apartment, probably a back-up plan if Tokio wasn't killed in the bombing incident. That made the attorney wonder if Hajime had sent the very capable woman to check out Tokio's office, too. She would have to remember to ask him. Perhaps he did it himself. He did go to work yesterday while she stayed home.

The prosecutor was not looking forward to checking her encrypted messages. It would probably take her quite some time to wade through all of them. She was hoping that there might be some missive from the Major, or rather her soon to be husband. The information about their change in status was on a need to know basis and as far as she and Hajime were concerned, only a few needed to know. In their respective work places Captain Wantanabe was the only one who would be entrusted with that information.

Tokio wondered if she could call the woman by her first name now that her relationship with the Major was what it was. Of course, her brother Morinusuke, was also in the need to know loop. She would make sure that he would come from Yokohama for their marriage ceremony when the time came.

Although she could not see her husband causing a disruption on her wedding day, she was sure that the man wanted to give Mori a royal dress down for sending his sister into the snake pit of New Meiji with woefully inadequate fire power and protective armor. The attorney wouldn't be the least bit surprised if the Major found away to discretely express his views to her brother.

Her family in Aizu would keep their confidence. Tokio's father, in his day, had been one of the honest politicians, and to be one of those there was often a price to pay. Thankfully, no one in the Takagi family died but there were some close calls. All of them were trained in personal defense, even her mother, although she protested. The attorney couldn't help but be thankful for her father's desire to keep his family safe. If she hadn't been trained in the use of firearms, she was sure that Hajime would have been killed that day at the Sunshine Cafe, the day that her memories of the past began to return.

The first item on the attorney's agenda was to send an email to Major Saitoh, if he hadn't already contacted her. There was a lot to do, but in her mind her safety which directly affected their family's safety, was more important than a raid gone bad. The car bomb was about her, no question about that. The syndicate hit in the cafe could very well be about her, too, if Hajime's assessment was correct, and his usually were.

Tokio truly hoped that some of the evidence from the garage bombing crime scene had been processed. Explosives had signatures these days, and left a residue. It may be possible to trace it to the source. Records were supposed to be kept for the whole production and sales chain. She sighed, realizing that the trail she hoped to follow might lead to no where, since criminals often had little or no trouble falsifying records.

The prosecutor pressed her thumb against the security pad on the edge of the monitor sitting on her desk while she stared directly into the iris scanner above it. The screen flickered to life and she tapped on the icon that opened her encrypted email program.

She wasn't really surprised that there was no message from the Major. With his new position and everything that was going on he was probably swamped with work, even paperwork, and she was sure that he was none too pleased about that, either.

Reaching into the top left drawer of her desk , she extracted the communication link to her computer, clipped it over her ear and began speaking.

##################################################################  
SECURE AND ENCRYPTED EMAIL MSG:  
To: H. Saitoh  
From: T. Takagi  
Subject: CASE FILE NUMBERS  
START

Major Saitoh,

Please send ASAP case file numbers for following cases:

1\. Sunshine Cafe incident  
garage bombing  
3\. Botched MPD raid

I also require links to processed evidence reports for #2 above if such have not yet been cleared for inclusion in main file.

Very truly yours,  
Takagi Tokio, Esq.  
Assistant Prosecutor  
New Meiji Department of Justice

Saw press conference. My congratulations and sympathy on your promotion.

##############################################################

Now that she'd emailed the Major there were several other items to attend to before she got too involved in today's work load. But for those she would need to use her personal cell, not her government issued computer. Personal life was personal; work was work and never the twain should cross paths, if at all possible, according to Tokio's way of thinking.


	3. Chapter 3 - Family Business

**Chapter 3 Family Business**

The attorney reached into her blazer pocket and removed her new gray cell phone. The Major purchased it for her to replace the one that melted in the bombing. She was glad she took the time to set it up last night while Hajime gave the boys their bath.

There was someone she needed to contact this morning to discuss a very important matter. After her brother, who was now Chief Prosecutor for Japan, passed the bar his first job was to clerk for the man. Of course, that was many years ago and Tokio was sure that Makino-sensei was probably close to retirement by now. To be an honest judge and to live long enough to do that here in New Meiji was certainly an accomplishment.

The normal thing to do in these matters was to take the necessary documents to the city hall registrar, fill out paperwork, sign it and be on your way. However, she and the Major had to be discreet about this. They needed to find another way.

**RING...RING...RING  
**  
"Good morning. Judge Makino's chambers"

"Hello. This is Takagi Tokio. Is Makino-sensei available to take a phone call?"  
"Yes, I will be happy to wait."

**[3 minutes later]**

"Hello, Makino-sensei? Thank you for taking my call. Yes, Morinusuke told me he would let you know that I was coming here to New Meiji. Oh, he told you the reason, too. Thanks. He did tell me that I could count on your help."

"No, I don't have any leads or concrete theories yet, regarding my assignment. Yes, it has only been a week since I first arrived and I am still doing research. I will definitely keep you informed of my progress."

"Oh, I guess everyone heard about both of those attempts on my life. You heard correctly. That secretary did sell information for about three dozen new DOJ employees. Mine was included in that batch. Yes, I know that technically I am not new, but coming here for my brother, that is the way it was handled. I agree. That is probably how whomever wants me dead knew I was in here in New Meiji."

"Yes, I understand that there was quite the media coverage for the shooting at the Sunshine Cafe. Hm. You think it could have been related to the case I prosecuted in Yokohama? I appreciate you sharing your suspicions with me."

"Thank you. I was glad I had a firearm available, too. I know. He does have a reputation, and his death would have been a severe blow to the department. He says that he would have died if I hadn't taken that shot. You know my Dad, he insisted that we all be trained when he was politically active in Aizu."

"Yes. It was quite a coincidence that the Major would be with me in the parking garage that second time. No, fortunately that incident didn't seem to get the media coverage. I agree that those sorts of things do spread around the DOJ and MPD like wildfire, though."

"Do I know him well? Ah. I have known him for a long time. Speaking of that, there is something I would like to discuss with you...something of a personal nature, but in person if that would work out for you."

"Today? Yes. Thank you. I can be there right before noon. Lunch? Oh, you don't have to do that. No, I don't imagine that you and my brother get a chance to talk much. Laughs, oh, I will be happy to fill you in on what he and his family have been up to."

"My parents? Yes, Dad is retired now and has time to participate in the farm in a more hands on way than he did when he was still serving Aizu-wakumatsu."

"That will be great. Thanks. I'll see you in your chambers right before noon. I can't tell you how much I appreciate seeing you on such short notice."

"See you soon. Bye."

Tokio sighed and pressed the end call button on her phone. One down and two to go. She would make sure the DOJ got their money's worth out of her today, but there were still some very important non-work issues to deal with at the moment.

Tapping the device to life again after finishing her call to Makino Kazuharu, the attorney opened the Uwajimaya app, which she'd put in a place that was easy to spot on the display. They delivered to homes so there was no reason for them to treat an office any differently in her estimation.

The prosecutor was glad she already had an account set up at this store. Although she rarely used it before, she knew that was about to change big time. Her memory of how much boys could eat was quite clear from their Meiji 1 days as a family. She knew the children at their young ages wouldn't eat all that much, but the day was coming soon when it would seem as though each of their boys had two hollow legs to fill.

The woman now had a family of four to feed. Although she gave the Major a good sized shopping list yesterday, there were a few more things they needed, especially now that she would be a permanent member of the household and be the one to direct traffic in the kitchen. Of course, all three of the other family members would have their assigned tasks, but she gave herself the job of primary organizer and shopper. She scrolled and tapped until everything she needed was in her shopping cart. Tokio still felt guilty for putting the cooking sake on the list yesterday. Her thoughtless choice caused all sorts of issues in their family. Poor Tsutomu. She would never make that mistake again.

Ah, that reminded her of something she wanted for the boys. Even though Uwajimaya's was primarily a food store, they did offer a selection of kitchen and cooking gear. After tapping in a search and viewing the results, she spotted what she was looking for and it couldn't be a better fit for her family. The attorney was sure the boys would love them, and would enjoy wearing them when they helped her prepare dinner tonight.

Good thing Tokio kept the app open because she forgot to order a very important laundry item. She hadn't checked to see if there was some in the house, but sooner or later she knew the Major's clothes would surely need it, and if there was an extra box in the cupboard it would be better than not having any. It took a special type of product to get blood out of fabric, not that it would be his blood, and nothing was better than BIZ for the job.

At check-out she chose delivery in a cold box with wheels and a handle, similar to a piece of luggage so she could easily drag it to the car tonight. As she tapped in the delivery address she made a mental note to tell Oharu there would be some personal deliveries for her today.

Tokio was very glad that she'd remembered to program the rice cooker before she left this morning. If they got home late from work today, the appliance would keep the cooked rice warm and moist until it was needed for dinner. Of course, she would cook some soba for the Major. The order she just placed included a good sized package of Uwajimaya's house brand. She smiled when she thought of the look on his face, if he didn't see some of his favorite food on the table tonight. That was the one item there was plenty of at home, a whole shelf full of instant in fact, plus a nearly empty package of fresh in the refrigerator.

Now that the basics were out of the way, she proceeded to her most important task of the day, finding an excellent quality breathing mask for Tsuyoshi. His little cat-themed mask was woefully inadequate to handle the best New Meiji had to offer particulate pollution-wise. She was glad that this morning's close call turned out as well, as it did.

The best place to go was Amazon Japan. They would have the largest selection and the most reviews. Plus, they offered two hour delivery in the New Meiji metro area.

After searching for options and reading reviews, the prosecutor found what was purported to be the best child's breathing mask available. The reviews seemed to agree with a 95 % five star rating and the other 5% comprised of three and four star ratings. Those mostly complained about the delivery times or color selections, which were completely irrelevant, in her opinion. Product performance was the only important parameter as far as the attorney was concerned. The company's claims better be accurate or they would find themselves on the receiving end of legal action, not only for Tsuyoshi's sake, but for all the other children in New Meiji whose parents purchased this mask because the manufacturer claimed it gave superior protection from the most vicious air pollution the city had to offer.

Speaking of color choices, as she scrolled down the screen, Tokio was thrilled to find an option that she thought her youngest would love. A certain baseball team let the manufacturer use their officially sanctioned logo as a decorating option. Tokio ordered two of those without a second thought. They needed back-up mask-wise, so getting more than one mask was an insurance policy. The mask might even fit Tsutomu. If it didn't, and he wanted one, she would order a larger child's size ASAP.

Grocery order and mask orders placed, Tokio slipped her phone back in her pocket, leaving it on in case the Major needed to contact her.

The next thing to do was to text Oharu, so she switched back to her work computer briefly, not wanting to use her personal phone for any intra-office communication, even if that communication was not work related. It was the one exception she made to her separation of work and personal business..

############################################################  
TEXT MESSAGE

To: Murakami Oharu  
From: Takagi Tokio

START

Oharu-san, I am expecting some personal deliveries today. Please bring them into my office as soon as they arrive. I will also be leaving around 11 am. and should return between 1 and 1:30 pm.

Thanks,  
Tokio

END TEXT MESSAGE

##########################################################  
TEXT MESSAGE REPLY

START

Tokio-sensei. Message received. Will do. Understood.

Oharu

END TEXT MESSAG  
#########################################################


	4. Chapter 4 - DOJ Discoveries

**Chapter 4 - DOJ Discovery**

Her most important tasks accomplished, the woman closed out of the email that was still open on her computer desktop, then tapped the icon to open the link to the DOJ internal site for newly filed complaints. The DOJ received all complaints having to do with the MPD. Her index finger scrolled down until she found the complaint file for Investigations and opened it only to get an eye full, a big eyeful.

She calculated that Hajime over saw about 100 men in five squads. Certain policies had been in place for years. However, those in leadership were willing to look the other way for such a long time that it allowed a high degree of corruption in the MPD. The Major made it clear at the press conference that in his department two of those policies would be enforced with no exceptions. Every officer under his supervision was obligated to submit drug panels and financial records on a regular, but unannounced basis so they would be harder to falsify. The attorney knew that the Major would do his best to ferret out the corruption in his division, just as she would do her best to do the same in hers. In her opinion, from what she'd heard, it was about time that someone took control over there.

Scanning the filed complaints she saw that there was one complaint each from squads 1 and 4, three from squad 5 and a whopping nine from squad 2, which translated into a 45% filing rate for them. Considering each squad only had 20 people that was an impressive number from squad 2.

Overall the rate of complaints filed over the Major's edict that those policies would be enforced was 15%. The attorney was not surprised that there were no filings from squad 3, which used to be his and was now Captain Wantanabe's.

Tokio noticed that no litigators had been assigned yet. She suspected that she wouldn't be given any of the complaints filed against his department due to what happened to both of them in the parking garage, just as he was not allowed to investigate the bombing. Laughably, the MPD did sometimes try to give the appearance of fairness and impartiality, especially if it meant keeping competent people from investigating or prosecuting cases.

In her professional opinion these complaints would go no where. The Major was within his rights to enforce MPD policy. Tokio realized that people should be innocent until proven guilty, but the prosecutor was fairly certain that anyone who did not want to submit a tox panel or financials was either a user or was on the payroll of an unsavory organization. She did acknowledge, although unlikely, there could be an individual who protested on the grounds of personal privacy, but that wouldn't even be considered in light of official policies, even though not enforced in the past as they should have been.

In addition there were four wrongful death complaints from the families of Umagoe, Ryoto, Yoshi, and Kouta.. Those had to do with Umagoe's publicity stunt of a raid that was ill planned with a total disregard for the safety of his officers. The man had crafted it as a way to win himself a promotion. Instead it earned him a place in the morgue, along with his men. The whole sickening event was broadcast live and recorded for posterity. She was so glad that Major Saitoh insisted that all children leave the room before the video was replayed at the press conference. To see brothers in arms, obviously under the influence of drugs, blow each other's brains out was stomach churning beyond belief.

The prosecutor took in a breath and let it out as she saw the very long list of wrongful death complaints filed on behalf of what had to be almost every survivor of the men who were slaughtered during Umagoe's ill conceived action. There was also a complaint filed by Officer Ishigura Hayao, who survived the debacle. The raid, which aimed to bring positive publicity and accolades to Umagoe, only served to get him and most of his men killed. So much for a selfish idiot who refused to follow sound police protocol. It also revealed MPD officers to be AMP or METAL users. Tokio closed her eyes and massaged her temples with her fingers.

She only encountered Umagoe once. He was leaving Hajime's office the day she returned the Major's gun. That brief meeting left a bad taste in her mouth. Hajime hadn't been too pleased with the man that day, either.

Tokio smiled at the memory of returning the gun, because Hajime giving her his favorite firearm was akin to a proposal for the man. He'd as much as admitted it this morning during their heart to heart talk. At that time, only two days ago, she didn't even recognize him for who he had been to her so long ago. Her memories were only beginning to resurface then. But her Meiji 1 husband knew exactly who she had been to him. Tokio couldn't be happier by the way things worked out between them..

The fate of the wrongful death complaints was quite another matter (gads that word would never be the same for her) , compared to filings about enforcing regulations. They were exponentially more serious, stemming from an horrific tragedy, that could have been avoided if proper procedures had been followed. Regardless of her personal feelings, it was Tokio's sworn duty to defend the MPD against all complaints. However, she felt that the family members of those killed, and the officer who survived had a very good case against the department. From what she'd heard so far, the case was strong. She knew that the best course of action would be an out of court settlement Settling without going to trial would avoid what was sure to be a protracted media circus that would benefit no one but the news outlets which were always hungry to find something sensational to report, and exaggerate, in her opinion.

**BEEP...BEEP...BEEP**

It was her incoming email alert. She stopped what she'd been doing to check the incoming message. It was a reply from Hajime.

##########################################################  
To:  
From: H. Saitoh  
Subject: CASE FILE NUMBERS

Takagi-san,

Per your request, I have attached the requested case files and links for the cases.

A search warrant has been issued regarding the MPD raid. Additional documentation and information will be forthcoming. I would anticipate that this investigation will take until later this evening, necessitating a discussion after normal business hours. As such, I have asked Captain Watanabe to reach out to you and make arrangements for this evening. Please let me know what your availability looks like.

Regards,  
H. Saitoh

p.s. Congratulations are not necessary.

###############################################################

The man was prompt and efficient. She would expect no less from him. She replied immediately. Looks like their evening plans were changing.

################################################################  
SECURE AND ENCRYPTED EMAIL MSG:

To: H. Saitoh  
From: T. Takagi  
Subject: CASE FILE NUMBERS  
START

Major Saitoh,

Thank you for the requested information with links. I will require the additional information, also, and will make arrangements via Captain Wantanabe to coordinate schedules. I anticipate being available for further briefing after 18:00 hrs. today

Very truly yours,

Takagi Tokio, Esq.  
Assistant Prosecutor  
New Meiji Department of Justice

P.S. In that case I withdraw my congratulations, but not my sympathy.

END

After sending her reply to the Major Tokio went back to what she'd been doing. This time she opened the link to the garage bombing case, very pleased to see another link to an evidence report. With a few more taps on the screen, what she'd hoped to find appeared before her. It was the evidence report from the bombing of her car in the DOJ parking garage. It was the information for which she'd been waiting.

Eyes shifting from left to right as she scanned down the document, her face paled when she reached the conclusion. She sat back in her chair for support as she read it again just to make sure that her eyes weren't playing tricks on her. If this report were to be believed, the apparent source for the explosives, according to the evidence, was a government munitions warehouse. Tokio was stunned beyond words.

After the garage bombing which targeted her car, the attorney realized she was marked for death. (Thankfully, Hajime managed to yank her out of it just in time.) But she never suspected that it could be an internal affair. However, that is exactly what it appeared to be.

If that wasn't enough, and in her opinion it should have been, the Major's assessment of what happened at the Sunshine Cafe scrolled through her mind. He told her what he thought two days ago after she returned his side arm to him, when they made the trip to the tactical armory.

_"The men we encountered in the diner were part of one of the larger syndicates in the city, one that specializes in drug and sex trafficking. We are still determining if his coming into the diner when you were there was merely coincidence, or if you had been targeted by the organization. Considering that this is the same syndicate that is responsible for the death of your predecessor and his entire family, I very much doubt that yesterday's encounter was accidental."_

She was apparently the target at the cafe, too. Her skin started to feel clammy again, just as it had when Hajime first shared this information with her. A wave of nausea welled from her stomach when it hit her in the gut that there wasn't just one group intent on taking her life, there were probably at least two. She felt sick. It was all she could do to swallow down the breakfast that threatened to escape onto her desk. It wasn't just Tokio anymore. When she first started this quest for her brother, she was alone. Now there were others to consider who would be put in more danger than they already faced.

If Makino-sensei's guess was correct, one of the groups trying to claim her life may be related to that big case she won in Yokohama. It would be perfectly reasonable to think that the syndicates would want her planted underground after what they'd suffered by her hand in that DOJ courtroom. They sure wouldn't want her doing more damage to them here in New Meiji.

In Yokohama Tokio managed the prosecution in a high stakes court case that involved a higher-ranking member of one of the city's most dangerous syndicates. Accused of racketeering, money laundering and sex-trafficking, the criminal she'd been tasked with putting away was a sadist and a murderer, many times over.

The team of high powered, ridiculously expensive attorneys leading the defense weren't much better. They'd been able through bribes, manipulation and the threat of violence and retribution, to keep their client on the streets for far too long. At the beginning of the court proceedings, the defense team for the syndicate had been smug, the accused a cocky sort who kept grinning as if he was already assured of the outcome. In most courtrooms he would have been, but not in hers.

The black-haired attorney had savaged the lot, leaving the defense attorneys stunned and the syndicate boss white faced and scared as she tore his alibis, falsehoods and corruption open for the world to see in the same efficient, lethal fashion that an apex predator rips out the throat of weaker prey.

Afterward she'd been informed that the conviction sent ripples of unease through the underworld. Apparently those ripples reached all the way to New Meiji.

Tokio turned off her computer and pushed away from her desk, tilting her head from side to side in hopes of taking some of the tension from her muscles. She needed to process all of this. She needed to think.

It was time for her to leave anyway. She would have to push all of this to the back of her mind until she returned. There was another urgent matter that needed her attention right now.


	5. Chapter 5 - Mysteries

**Chapter 5 - Mysteries**

It all started when a clerk leaked the confidential information of 36 Department of DOJ employees. The offending staff member was only removed from her position, and suffered no other consequences. One interesting rumor-mill tidbit was that Major Saitoh tried to have the woman arrested but to no avail, since she was the niece of a powerful finance minister.

The data breech started the speculation, because the names of all the recent hires were hung out like laundry on a line for everyone to see. One of those names was Takagi and everyone in the New Meiji DOJ was quite familiar with that surname since it was the same as that of the big boss, Takagi Morinusuke, Chief Prosecutor of the National DOJ in Yokohama. Oharu wondered if the man was related to her boss. It was enough to pique the secretary's interest and she decided to do some investigating on her own.

The research wasn't hard to do. Takagi Morinusuke was indeed her boss's brother. But things didn't add up. Takagi Tokio was only an assist prosecutor here in New Meiji, yet she had one of the highest conviction rates in the country when she worked in Yokohama. She even won a very high profile case against a high-up syndicate boss. Everyone in the DOJ had heard about that case, even if they didn't recall the name of the person who litigated it. That is when the speculation started in Oharu's mind about why Tokio was really in New Meiji. A person such as Tokio was not easily demoted unless they'd done something terribly incompetent. Her boss was anything but that as far as Oharu could tell even after working with the black-haired woman for only a week. What exactly was Takagi Tokio doing here in New Meiji working as a low-level assistant?

Oharu felt there was something that did not add up with her boss-san. The secretary's fact finding mission, prompted by the data breech, yielded results. It didn't take much for Oharu to put two and two together, especially when Takagi was the surname. It astounded her that her boss had not used an alias when she relocated here from Yokohama. After Oharu figured out the connection, the rest was easy. Why would Takagi Moriusuke send his sister, who was his top prosecutor, who garnered more convictions than anyone else, to New Meiji as a lowly assistant prosecutor? It made absolutely no sense to Tokio's secretary unless the attorney was here for a completely different reason. That had to be the explanation. Another interesting coincidence was that her boss had been in two life-threatening situations with Major Saitoh in just the short time she'd been in New Meiji. Hm. Perhaps. Oharou would need to keep her eyes and ears on alert. She usually knew the comings and goings, the ins and outs of what was happening in this department. It didn't hurt that her brother was an EMT and answered incident calls from the MPD, like the one at the Sunshine Cafe where the Major and her boss came under fire.

As Oharu watched her boss leave before noon, she scanned the area of the office pool. Most people had left for lunch, but there were still a few at their desks, heads down, most likely trying to finish up some time-sensitive project, or they would have already left to have their mid-day meal. Not many stayed and ate at their desks due to a very nice, nearby break room stocked with snacks and vending machines which offered more substantial fare. if you wanted to pay for it. All the hot and cold drinks were free. She and Tokio had their own hot drink machine because it was more convenient. If a person wanted, they could always go down a couple of floors to the cafeteria, but it was a long walk and took time away from the hour lunch break.

Knowledge was safety in Oharu's mind. Knowledge minimized the surprises that always seemed to pop up in life, especially in this city. That is why the secretary noticed a particular person today, a woman with short hair and glasses, still at her desk, who hired on about the same time as her boss-san arrived. Tokio's secretary thought a moment to recall the woman's name. That woman looked up as soon as the prosecutor left her private office and her gaze continued to follow Tokio as she left the pool area. Hm. Now that Oharu thought about it, this particular woman always seemed to watch her boss whenever the dark-haired attorney left or entered her office. Oharu kept staring at the woman, who by this time was pushing away from her desk as it if to leave. The woman eventually spotted Oharu's piercing gaze, quickly sitting back down in response. It occurred to Oharu that something fishy might be going on. Tokio's secretary was naturally suspicious, more so since the assassination of her former boss, Fujita, and his family. Oharu would keep an eye on this person, and tell Tokio-sensei about this possibly disturbing turn of events.

**[90 minutes later**]

Tokio walked back to her office. The meeting with Makino Kazuharu went better than she could have hoped. The judge was delighted to help them out as soon as she explained the situation to him. After that she regaled him with stories about her brother and his family. She was sure that her brother would grill her about what she'd told his old mentor, once he found out the two of them had a nice visit over lunch, which turned out to be a very nice bento spread that the judge ordered in. It made Tokio think about the bentos she delivered to her husband's office all those years ago when he was a member of the Tokyo MPD. Even though she was not a stay at home mother in this era, she would have to think of a way to get him a homemade bento, just for old times sake.

The attorney greeted her secretary with a smile. Oharu's expression seemed to be a mixture of concern and concentration. Tokio wondered if something happened while she was away during lunch, but would trust her secretary to let her know if there was anything she needed to know about.

When Toko returned to the sanctuary of her private office she saw a luggage-like cold box, and a small package with an Amazon return label neatly placed in the corner. Now that the matter was settled there was more to be ordered, and hopefully delivered, before the day was over. There were still over four hours left in the attorney's work day. She would need to check to see if there were any messages from Captain Wantanabe. Hajime emailed that the prosecutor would hear from the officer to make arrangements for late today.

First things first.

Tokio took out her gray cell phone, turned it on and tapped in a simple text. If he had his phone on, which he probably did, he should answer her quickly. It was, after all, a very important matter. She had no desire to use names that could be identified even on her secure personal phone.

############################################################

TEXT

RE: The Matter

Wolf ..11 am... 2 days...details later

END TEXT

############################################################

This way he would at least know the date and time.

[a mere seconds later]

PING

############################################################

RETURN TEXT

Wildcat - details received and understood

END TEXT

############################################################

She laughed. The two of them were quite the pair.

Opening up a search on her phone's screen, scrolling, looking, she finally found something very suitable. It was a white silk sheath, below knee length with a short jacket adorned with some tasteful beading, three-quarter sleeves. It was simple, but elegant. Just what she liked. She hoped he would like it, too.

With a little more scrolling she found another item and ordered four of them, two of each size. She hoped she would need those soon. One more very important item also went into her shopping cart, a small bottle of perfume called Meiji Memories, a light sakura fragrance, to replace the one lost in the blast. Tapping in her order, paying extra for end of the day arrival, she was done after pressing the complete purchase button.


	6. Chapter 6 - More Messages

**Chapter 6 - More Messages**

Tokio re-entered her secure information and her computer flicked to life again. She had a lot to think about from what she learned about before her lunch break. Now was the time to get back to work.

PING

It was her personal phone, but this time the text was not from Hajime. Under the circumstances, it made sense that he would give Captain Wantanabe her personal number.

########################################################################################################

**TXT MSG: ENCRYPTED AND CONFIDENTIAL**

**START TXT MSG: KWATANABE to TTAKAGI**

**RE:ARRANGEMENTS**

**ILL TEMPERED WOLF WORKING LATE. I'M YOUR RIDE HOME. ALSO IN POSSESSION OF ADDITIONAL INTEL RE: IED PACKET FOUND AT HOME. HOLD ON TO BUTT. NEWS ISN'T GOOD. PLEASE CONFIRM DESIRED PICKUP TIME AND CURRENT HEALTH STATUS. NOTE: BRINGING INFUSION OF QUALITY CHOCOLATE TO COUNTER IMPACT OF PROLONGED EXPOSURE TO SOURPUSS. PLEASE SPECIFY DARK, MILK OR BOTH. **

**YOU'LL NEED IT.**

**KAREN**

**END TXT MSG.**

################################################################

Gads. So her Wolf was working late tonight. He had such long days in this era. She was glad that they were together now. He had someone to care for the boys and to hold down the fort at home. Being a prosecutor, her schedule was much more flexible than his, especially now that he was Superintendent of Criminal Investigations. Police officers were on call at all hours of the day and night.

Sounds like things were not going well today, not for him, not for her, not for Karen, either. Well, some very important family things were going well for the attorney and that was a lot for which to be thankful. In fact, that was all that really mattered to Tokio. Her family was almost whole, and she was reunited with Hajime, the great love of her life.

From reading Captain Wantanabe's message Tokio had a sick feeling that maybe the explosives at her house had the same origin as the ones from the garage bombing. Wouldn't be long before she found out. She was sure she would get a full report once she was in the privacy of the Captain's car. The prosecutor wondered if Karen had seen the evidence reports from the garage bombing.

################################################################

**TXT MSG: ENCRYPTED AND CONFIDENTIAL**

**START TXT MSG: TTAKAGI to KWATANABE **

**THAT BAD? (SOUNDS NORMAL FOR HIM.) DARK PLEASE, BUT I TRULY ENJOY BOTH KINDS.**

**AT THE MOMENT I'M FINE. HAVE STUFF TO TAKE WITH ME. SORRY, BLAME HIM. (ALTHOUGH IT'S 50% MY FAULT.)**

**CAN LEAVE AT 16:00 HRS. ASSUME WE WILL BE GETTING BOYS FROM SCHOOL. HE PUT ME ON THE LIST THIS MORNING, SO HOPE WE DON'T HAVE PROBLEMS. KNOW YOU HAVE PERMISSION, TOO.**

**TOKIO**

**END TXT MSG.**

############################################################

Hajime had texted Tokio to let her know that he added her to the list of people who were able to pick up the boys from school. There was a confirming message from the school, too. It was a short list, just the Major, Karen, and Tokio. Tokio assumed that at one time Katsu had been on that list. She wondered if the Major took his sister off the list today, since he knew that his soon to be wife would be taking over childcare for their children, when he was unavailable to help. They were a team, but there were times when, as in Meiji 1, she would have primary care responsibility.


	7. Chapter 7 - Back to Business

**Chapter 7 - Back to Business**

Personal agenda taken care of and a text to Karen, it was back to what she'd left behind before noon. There had been two attempts on her life in just a few days. Most likely by two different groups, one of them possibly of government origin.

Life as she knew it... was... really...over. Gads. What had she gotten herself into? What had she gotten Hajime's family into? Now she had two little boys to worry about. It terrified her to think of the same thing happening to their sons as had happened to Fujita-san's little daughter. When she insisted on taking this assignment for her brother, she had no clue about a past life or that she would find and reunite with her husband and children from two hundred years ago.

She was concerned for herself and Hajime, but the prosecutor was confident the two of them could take care of themselves. It was Tsuyoshi and Tsutomu she really worried about because they spent most of their day at school away from their parents. In her opinion, no security detail, regardless of how talented and loyal they may be, were a worthy substitute for the protection she and Hajime could provide. The attorney wished she had the luxury to home school the boys, but she didn't.

She made a promise to her brother. It was her duty to help clean up this corrupt city, beginning with the New Meiji Prosecutor's Office, so her sons and all other children could spend their lives in a much safer place than it was now, or at least that was the goal. Only time would tell if it could be accomplished, and to what degree.

Tokio was working on a mission for her brother,. Her task was to ferret out who it was in New Meiji that let criminals go free, when many should have been spending a life sentence with no possibility of release. Even where there was sufficient and overwhelming evidence to convict, plea bargains were often made, or if a conviction was obtained, the sentence was time served while the scumbags were waiting for their trials. The attorney was confident that the problem was not only with certain prosecutors, but also certain judges. If a prosecutor failed to litigate properly, a judge, even though not corrupt, would have no choice but to let a person go. Corruption on both the part of the prosecutor and judge in a case led to reduced or no sentences if there was collusion between the two.

Tokio would need to gather information about the rate of conviction for every prosecutor in this office, and also try to determine which judges seemed to give lighter sentences and if this seemed to happen most often when certain attorney's were involved. Lots of work. Little time. She needed people she could trust to help her, just as Hajime told her. Perhaps Makino-sensei would share his thoughts about the various prosecutors and judges with her. The next time they spoke, after two days from now, it would be DOJ business only on the agenda.

Perhaps after she finished her job for Mori, and they captured and convicted whomever it was who was trying to kill her, she would take a sabbatical from work and home school their sons. Her brother would certainly approve her request. He had to realize that now that her circumstances had changed she would stay in New Meiji and never return to her job in Yokohama, unless her husband was transferred there. Now that was an idea. Yokohama was a good place for families. Aizu was even better, but as long as they could make a difference here, they needed to stay to try and root out and stop the corruption.

She knew taking a sabbatical was not something she could decide on her own. She would run it by the Major, sooner than later so he would have ample time to think about the hypothetical and evaluate the merits. Tokio could think of another reason for taking time off work. There were clichéd things that happened to a woman on her wedding night and if the unlikely happened to her, there definitely would be a sabbatical in her future and it wouldn't only be to home school their children.

.

Whomever put the hits on her needed to be identified, captured, convicted and jailed. There was also the matter of the secretary who not only compromised her information, but that of many other DOJ employees, thirty six of them in all. They knew who the woman was, she had a relative in a high place in the finance division and that was why she got away with what she did without any consequence except for a transfer to, in all probability, a more cushy job assignment.

The woman needed to suffer some consequences for her actions. Even if Tokio had to file a civil suit on her own, the prosecutor was determined to find some justice for the situation. It might send a signal to others to think twice before they tried the same thing. Tokio was realistic enough to know that if money was involved, which it usually was, large sums of it, the temptation would be too great even with the threat of a long prison sentence. If they could connect the data compromise to outing her undercover status, and any harm that may have befallen the others whose information was compromised, it ought to be enough to have the woman spend at least a few months in jail. The attorney also wanted justice for the officer who had volunteered for her security detail. She hadn't even known she had one until he'd forfeit his life protecting her. The night he died, she would have also if Hajime hadn't accompanied her to her car.

It dawned on the prosecutor that whomever obtained the explosives from the government warehouse, could possibly have a connection to the person or people who were causing problems for her brother here in the New Meiji DOJ.

**[Meanwhile, back in the DOJ office pool]**

Damn that Murakami woman, thought a short-haired supposed typist. She'd almost had the opportunity to follow that so-called assistant prosecutor out of the office today right before lunch and see where the woman was going and who she might be meeting with. That attorney was a menace to everyone in her line of business. At least they knew she was in town thanks to being able to pay off that clerk, who was money hungry and more than happy to make public the list of new hires for the right price. Everyone had their price. Takagi Tokio being on that list of new hires was what tipped them off to her whereabouts. If they hadn't seen her name, they would still be looking for the woman all over Japan. The attorney seemed to drop off the face of the earth for about three weeks after winning that big case in Yokohama, only to resurface a little over a week ago here in New Meiji. The attorney actually had to be pretty stupid to use her real name, not some alias when she was assigned here.

The prosecutor had upset and thrown a wrench into a very lucrative cash flow system back in Yokohama which was based in part on drug sales to the government, among other things. Not to mention who she managed to throw into jail. He would probably never see the light of day again.

No one liked to lose money, especially her bosses. After what that black-haired attorney did, the organization was determined to make an example of her so one else would even dare to think about doing what she managed to do in Yokohama, and was most likely trying to do here in New Meiji, too.

She sure wished her undercover assignment had her doing another job. She was no typist, but a member of the team tasked with keeping a close eye on that sister of Takagi and watching for any opportunity that may present itself to strike at the prosecutor. The short-haird woan hated keyboards, but being in this office pool was the best place to watch the comings and goings of one Takagi Tokio. The hit they had on her at that cafe (Sunshine was it?) was completely foiled by that cop. News media was a great thing these days, because the aftermath of the shootings was broadcast everywhere and repeated in prime time. The problem was, no one in the organization was sure about where that attorney was hiding. She hadn't really gotten a chance to follow the woman since she wasn't at work yesterday. Today when she did have an opportunity, that blasted secretary of Takagi's had, quite inconveniently, gotten into a staring match which kept her from getting up and following the prosecutor.

**[Back in Tokio's Office]**

**KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK**

"Come in please." Tokio knew the person knocking on her office door was Oharu. The secretary screened everyone, and called Tokio to tell her who wanted to see her when there was a visitor before knocking and opening the door to let the person inside. The older woman entered carrying a garment bag and a shopping bag that looked like it also had enough room for the box of breathing masks that was currently sitting on the floor.

"Tokio-sensei, these just arrived for you." Oharu hung the clothing bag on the coat tree in the corner of the room and put the other bag on the floor next to the box of masks.

Instead of leaving as soon as she brought the items in, the secretary hesitated as if she had something to tell her boss, her features reflected concern.

"I don't know if this is anything to be concerned about Sensei, but today I noticed that someone in the office pool watched you leave and I think she intended to follow you, if she hadn't seen me staring at her."

The attorney sighed. She should have expected something like this.

**[A few minutes earlier down the hall from Tokio's office]**

**KAREN**

For a short woman, Captain Watanabe was a very fast walker. This afternoon, she was also a determined one.

Growing late in the workday, the hallways of the huge DOJ complex were filled with men and women scurrying this way and that, trying to get home. The largest contingency of employees, those who worked and served the people of New Meiji during the day, were ending their shifts while the slightly smaller evening teams were settling down for a long night. New Meiji never slept and neither did the DOJ.

Moving quickly in and out of the crowds, the slight, grey haired Captain of the 3rd Squad, Criminal Investigations Unit, was able to make good time and get down and over to the complex wing where the DOJ attorneys and other litigators worked.

Captain Watanabe, known by a very small handful as Karen and by one smartass as "Grandma" walked through the long halls filled with lawyers, paralegals, secretaries and who knows who else, who worked in this part of the building. Everyone in this wing wore suits and carried briefcases.

Karen could feel many eyes on her as she walked. A woman, elderly and clad in the uniform of a tactical police officer, she was already an anomaly. Sporting a synthetic eye, synth box and a section of her right jaw with a titanium plate in the aftermath of an assassination attempt that had killed four other police officers and had sent her to the hospital for three months, the slender, white-haired police officer stood out like a very short, and slightly pissy sore thumb.

(I still can't believe that Hajime fell for an attorney…)

Karen turned the corner, her combat boots making hardly any sound on the polished floor as she headed eastward, towards where Takagi's office was located.

Generally speaking, Karen didn't like attorneys. No sane cop did. Even the prosecuting sort were to be handled with care, as many were not only getting a paycheck from the government, but also collecting credits from one or more syndicates (who paid far better).

(I can't believe an attorney fell for Hajime…)

Truth was stranger than fiction, it seemed.

As Watanabe got closer to her destination, she thought back on the first time she'd laid eyes (or…eye) on the black-haired woman that her commanding officer and friend of many, many years had taken a liking to.

(The brat said they were getting married. IN TWO DAYS!)

Karen snorted, startling a rather mousy typist.

It was impossible. Absolutely impossible. Hajime hadn't so much as looked sideways at a woman since Yaso died. In fact, the last time that the specter of dating had been brought up, courtesy of Okita and his idiot idea of surprising Saitoh with a blind date, the two men had ended up in a fist fight, a bad one.

(He was teasing…)

That was the only logical explanation to the rather enigmatic mission instructions she'd been given. Her friend was many things, but impulsive, particularly when it came to matters of a personal nature, was not one of them. His sweet children, Tsutomu and Tsuyoshi, were all that Saitoh had left and he ferociously protected their privacy and personal safety.

(Which is why this has to be a joke!)

Yes, she'd come on the scene at the Sunshine Café and found the officer in Takagi's arms (willingly, no less) and had repeatedly checked on the woman (even after confirming she was an attorney) while he'd been in the hospital getting his leg stitched up, AND had LENT Takagi his favorite handgun and ensured that the prosecutor had been fitted with ballistic body armor and a weapon that wasn't in the same league as an overgrown pea shooter.

Karen frowned, and turned left. She was almost to Takagi's office.

Had Hajime's actions been limited to the previous actions, dismissing his hair-brained comment about marriage would have been easy (except for the handgun part).

(But that's not where it ended…not by a long shot)

First, she'd seen the security video of the Major and the attorney practicing in the firing range. While nothing remotely scandalous had occurred, there had clearly been a discussion that was personal rather than professional in nature (which was unusual) and near the end, right after a power surge that in retrospect was a precursor to attempted murder, Hajime had kissed Takagi (or was it that she kissed him first?).

As far as kisses went, it hadn't been much, unless one considered who was engaging in the lip lock, and then the simple act of affection, done gently and carefully by a very strong and very wounded man, had shocked the hardened officer.

Karen had, out of an abundance of caution and a sincere desire to give her friend a measure of privacy, wiped the security footage. Even now she had no regrets and had made sure that Saitoh never found out.

Secondly, Hajime had taken Takagi to his home after the car bombing. His HOME. He'd introduced the woman to his CHILDREN and allowed her to stay under his roof right along with the boys. It was upon this realization that Karen had realized that whatever it was that was happening between the major and the newest member of the New Meiji prosecuting team was very serious.

Very serious indeed.

(But marriage?)

After a week?

Impossible.

The man was pulling her leg. That was the only reasonable explanation. It had to be.

Right?

Watanabe rounded the corner and came to a mid-sized office. It was Takagi's. Karen looked around for the attorney's secretary. She was nowhere to be found, so the police officer stepped up to the closed office door and rapped on it, quietly.

"Takagi-san?"

**[Back in the prosecutor's private office]**

**TOKIO**

_"Takagi-san?"_

Oharu and Tokio both turned to look at the door at the same time.

The attorney glanced at her watch. It was 5 minutes to 16:00 hrs. Not surprising considering who the officer's boss was.

Tokio turned her attention to her secretary, "That must be Captain Wantanabe. She is giving me a ride home since I don't have another car yet."

Oharu nodded, turned, and walked to the door, opening it for their visitor. It was Capatin Wantanabe, just as her boss assumed. The two had met before, but neither knew each other well.

"Hello, Captain Wantanabe. Please come in," Oharu greeted, then faced her boss before leaving, "I'll be at my desk if you need anything."

"Thank you," the attorney responded. "Oh, one thing Oharu...I might be here just half the day tomorrow. I will text you later and let you know. For the next two days after that, I won't be in the office, and will be out of contact. Please head home as soon as you can today."

There was no way that Tokio would take messages or respond to anything considering what was happening on those days. In her opinion, there was usually nothing so pressing in the DOJ that it couldn't wait a few days. Plus, she was only an assistant here. Anything urgent would be handled by senior staff and the judges on duty.

The prosecutor hadn't had time to tell her secretary about her schedule. Although she preferred to do it in private, speaking before the Captain was better than talking in the outer office, where there may be prying ears with listening devices. Thankfully, Tokio's private office was sound proof and should be bug proof. The prosecutor suspected that either Hajime or Captain Wantanabe had checked it out for bugs and explosives the day after the car bombing.

Once her secretary closed the door behind her, the attorney smiled warmly, extended her hand to the officer, giving a firm, but not too tight shake. Bowing was more traditional, but a hand shake was also appropriate these days.

"Thank you for coming to take me home today. I really appreciate it."

Tokio did not appreciate when someone wanted to show that they were superior to another by using a bone crushing grip . As far as the attorney was concerned, she and the officer were equals, with the older woman having a far more dangerous job, usually. It was apparent that Wantanabe had already suffered an extremely severe injury. Eventually, she would ask her soon to be husband about his co-worker, hoping he would be willing to share a few details if the information wasn't classified or on a need to know basis. That was always a favorite phrase for most everyone in the DOJ.

The black-hared prosecutor had only seen Karen Wantanabe once, that day at the Sunshine Cafe. Clad in her sports bra, holding a very wounded Hajime, tightly against her chest, she'd used her blouse as a tourniquet to keep him from bleeding out. She almost shuddered, remembering how she nearly lost him as soon as she found him.

The Captain nodded, "Takagi-san. Are you ready to go?"

"Yes, I just have to gather a few things before I leave."

"Since I really can't go out on my own at the moment," there was no reason to explain why. Wantanabe had to be well aware of her situation. She had installed new security in Tokio's home and was Hajime's trusted friend and colleague, "I did a little shopping. Sorry to have all of these extras." The attorney motioned to the collection in the corner.

Tokio bent down, putting the Amazon box in the shopping bag before walking to her computer console, logging out, turning it off, and putting her com attachment in a top drawer,

She then picked up her briefcase and the shopping bag in one hand and grabbed the handle of the luggage cart with the other.

"Would you mind carrying the garment bag for me? Tokio politely asked the older woman. She was sure that the officer would prefer to have her hands free in case there was trouble. If she would rather drag the luggage, Tokio hoped she would let her know and trade her for the garment bag.

Being escorted by someone wearing a tactical uniform was definitely going to attract attention. Tokio thought about Oharu's suspicions regarding the woman in the office pool. If she was keeping an eye on the prosecutor, it might make her think twice before doing anything if it appeared that Tokio had protection. No one except Oharu knew the officer was only her ride home tonight.

**KAREN**

Karen carefully schooled her features when Takagi-san mentioned that she was going to be out of the office for the next few days.

(Interesting…)

Was it coincidence that the young attorney just happened to be taking time off on the same day that a certain chain-smoking smart ass indicated that he and said attorney would be getting hitched?

Circumstantial evidence was beginning to build.

Would you mind carrying the garment bag for me?

"Of course, Takagi-san," Watanabe gave the younger woman a smile (as best she was able) and took the bag. It had a bit of weight to it – not heavy enough to be something like a coat, but also not light enough to be something simple like a blouse or a pair of trousers.

(Garment bags are generally reserved for higher end pieces…) Karen wished her synthetic eye had some sort of x-ray vision so that she could confirm or deny whether something appropriate for a wedding might be inside, but such things were only to be found in fiction rather than reality.

(I'll have to continue my investigation the old-fashioned way)

Knowing a thing or two about garment bags, the older woman adjusted the hang of the unseen article of clothing inside to prevent any wrinkles, then turned her full attention to the attorney.

"Ideally, I would carry both the garment bag and the luggage for you, Takagi-san," the 3rd Captain said sincerely, "but I need to have one arm unencumbered in the event of an emergency." She looked carefully at Takagi and could see the faint hint of a shoulder holster beneath the woman's business suit. "Hajime said you were armed, and with something a little more useful than the standard issue crap. Good."

Karen's expression became serious, "while it's unlikely that such an emergency will occur, if worst comes to worst, I expect you to get behind me and follow my instructions to the letter."

Takagi's response was sensible and to the point. While the police officer regretted that such a discussion was necessary, she'd be a damn fool not to have it and the attorney would be a damn fool not to listen.

"All right, now that I'm done being a security obsessed pain in your side, let's get out of here while the getting's good," Karen's good eye crinkled as she smiled as she walked over to the office door, opened it and made a motion for Takagi to exit the office first so that she could stay behind her and keep an eye out, just in case.

**OHARU**

Oharu watched her boss and the Captain as they strode out of the main office. Her gaze drifted to the suspicious office worker who currently had her head down and was pecking away at the keyboard. For a typist she sure didn't seem at home with a keyboard. Other people in the office pool briefly glanced at the two women who were leaving before refocusing on their work. That was perfectly logical and expected. Someone coming in, who usually didn't, garnered that sort of brief response. People were, after all curious. And when they learned Sensei's name many were curious.

There was no way that Oharu wanted to see Tokio meet the same fate as her former boss. She was determined to do everything in her power to prevent that from happening. The dark-haired attorney was a very private person. She really never said anything about her personal life. She sure did get a lot of stuff delivered to the office today. It was almost as if there were others in her household. But her recon revealed the woman was single. Hm. Another mystery that was Takagi Tokio.

The fact that Captain Wantanabe was here to fetch her today spoke volumes to Oharu. The Captain was one of Major Saitoh's valued and trusted officers. Fujita-sensei said as much before he and his family were tragically killed in a car bombing. The Major was with Tokio-sensei at the Sunshine Cafe and in the parking garage, both times attempts were made on her life.

Saitoh lost his wife violently several years ago. As a result he almost killed himself with alcohol. She, personally, had not heard any rumors linking him with a woman. However, she did watch the press conference where someone asked him if he was having an affair with a DOJ employee.

Could Tokio-sensei be the one? But she had only been here in New Meiji for less than a couple of weeks. If her boss was in a relationship with Major Saitoh, the two of them must have had some sort of past history, or at least that is what Oharu assumed. Only time would tell the truth of the matter.

**[Back in the office pool right after Tokio and Karen left]**

She had to be more discreet. That attorney's secretary spotted her today. It was quite evident by the way the woman stared her down right before lunch when she intended to follow the dark-haired prosecutor out of the office. The idea was to wait for an opportunity and then strike. This was a large complex with often empty halls. In part her plan depended on the element of surprise. The auto-inject syringe of deadly nerve agent in her pocket would not be hard to use if she could get close enough go leap at Takagi.

There would be no executing her plan today due to an unexpected element being present. That newly promoted Captain Wantanabe appeared on the scene. A body guard perhaps? The Captain was a part of Major Saitoh's department. He'd been at the cafe, and in the parking garage with the assistant prosecutor. What a joke. Takagi was no assistant.

What the prosecutor accomplished managed to shake up the underworld. Of course, the Yokohama group wanted to take her out in retribution for that court case which put one of their top-notch leaders into prison for who knows how long. The New Meiji branch of the organization was none too happy when they got wind that she had taken up residence in their city. There was no doubt in their mind what Takagi Morinusuke's sister was doing here and they were determined to put a stop to her before she was able to do the same thing here as she had done in Yokohama.

There'd been a question about the Major and a DOJ employee raised at the press conference. Since Wantanabe was here did that mean Takagi was the one linked to Saitoh? At this point there was no way to tell. If she was, it might pose a problem. The man was formidable, but it did not prevent him from losing his woman in the past.

Taking out Takagi had nothing to do with whether she did, or did not have a relationship with the head of Criminal Investigations. If she did, it would be a bonus to again strike the man where it hurt the most. Rumor had it that he hit the bottle heavily after his wife's brutal death. Would history repeat itself after a successful hit if he were involved with Takagi Morinusuke's sister?

Takagi Tokio earned her fate all by herself for what she did in Yokohama. She would pay for interrupting a very lucrative money train. She would pay soon if the syndicate's office plant had anything to say about it. It was her brother whom Takagi threw into prison with very little hope of getting out soon, if at all.


End file.
